UAB wins 7-6 and keeps UTSA from clinching the American baseball title

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Caden Miller's first home run. UAB beat UTSA 7-6 in American Conference baseball on Thursday, May 14, 2026, at Roadrunner Field. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Caden Miller belted a two-run homer in the third inning and a solo shot in the eighth in UTSA’s 7-6 loss to the UAB Blazers. – Photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

With only two days left in the American Conference baseball race, the UTSA Roadrunners are still not champions.

Not yet, at least.

Despite hitting four home runs, including two by Caden Miller, the first-place Roadrunners lost 7-6 Thursday night at home to the UAB Blazers.

Meanwhile, in Boca Raton, Fla., the second-place East Carolina Pirates held off the FAU Owls in the ninth inning to win 7-5.

As a result, the Roadrunners’ magic number to clinch remained at one.

One win by the Roadrunners or one loss by the Pirates will give UTSA at least a share of the title.

Both of the top two in the standings have two games remaining, with UTSA ace Conor Myles scheduled to pitch Friday night against UAB.

UAB pitcher Mason Steele. UAB beat UTSA 7-6 in American Conference baseball on Thursday, May 14, 2026, at Roadrunner Field. - Photo by Joe Alexander

UAB starting pitcher Mason Steele (6-3) earned the victory. He went eight and a third innings and gave up six runs on six hits. – Photo by Joe Alexander

The teams close out the series and the regular season Saturday at Roadrunner Field.

After the opening game in the series, players quietly packed up and went into a meeting in the clubhouse with UTSA coaches.

Then they filtered outside, with some leaving and others waiting around to talk with friends and family.

Miller, who has hit three home runs this week, agreed to talk to a reporter for a few minutes and offered a succinct description of the mood among players.

“It sucks,” Miller said. “But it’s in the past now. Got to get ready for tomorrow.”

“The biggest thing is, we’ve got a game tomorrow.

“Be grateful that we got a game tomorrow and be ready to play — to play UTSA baseball.”

UTSA coach Pat Hallmark said the team played “fine” except for walking a few too many batters early in the game.

Hallmark credited UAB pitcher Mason Steele and the defense behind him for combining to hold down UTSA’s offense, which exploded in a 19-4 win Tuesday against Texas State.

“We only had seven hits in 33 at bats,” the coach said. “Steele only walked us once, and they made some plays … Their defense played good.”

The Blazers started fast, scoring four runs in the second inning for a 4-0 lead.

Connor Kelley. UAB beat UTSA 7-6 in American Conference baseball on Thursday, May 14, 2026, at Roadrunner Field. - Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA junior Connor Kelley pitched the final five and two thirds innings, yielding only a run on three hits. – Photo by Joe Alexander

The Roadrunners retaliated with one run in their half of the second and four more in the third to surge ahead, 5-4.

In the second, Diego Diaz connected on a solo homer, UTSA’s first in a conference game since April 25.

The Roadrunners hit a pair of two-run homers off Steele in the third, one by Miller and another by Andrew Stucky.

The Blazers answered immediately in the fourth with some thunder of their own as Landon Beaver rocked Roadrunners reliever Christopher Gutierrez with a two-run homer to straight-away center.

They added another run in the sixth on a solo shot by Baylor Roberts for a 7-5 lead.

Miller gave UTSA hope in the eighth when he cranked a solo shot over the right field wall to account for the eventual final score.

Counting a home run that he hit Tuesday night against the Bobcats, Miller has lashed three round trippers in the last 72 hours and nine for the season.

“Just trying to stay loose and relaxed,” he said. “I don’t try to do too much up there.

“Just trusting in what coach (Ryan) Aguayo and coach Hallmark have taught me, and I think just trying to stay out of my own way, going up there and trusting the work that I’ve put in.

“Just going up there ready to hit.”

With UAB leading by the eventual final score, UTSA caught a brief spark in the bottom of the ninth.

Josh Arquette, facing UAB reliever Chase Ingram, lofted a pop fly into left field that got lost in the lights, and it dropped for a two-out double.

As Roadrunners fans cheered the development, Brandon Bishop entered the game as a pinch runner and as the potential tying run.

Diego Diaz. UAB beat UTSA 7-6 in American Conference baseball on Thursday, May 14, 2026, at Roadrunner Field. - Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA’s Diego Diaz smashed a solo home run in the second inning for his team’s first run of the game. – Photo by Joe Alexander

But it wasn’t meant to be as Roadrunners sophomore Jordan Ballin drilled a hot ground ball to short, which turned into the game-ending play.

Records

UAB 30-23, 14-11
UTSA 35-18, 16-9

Coming up

UAB at UTSA, Friday, 6 p.m.
UAB at UTSA, Saturday, 11 a.m.

American leaderboard

UTSA 16-9, 35-18
East Carolina 15-10, 31-21-1
UAB 14-11, 30-23
Rice 14-11, 32-22

Notable

UAB righthander Mason Steele (6-3) earned the victory. He worked eight and a third innings, allowing six runs on six hits. He walked one and struck out four.

UTSA reliever Christopher Gutierrez (1-3) threw only one pitch in the game and was saddled with the loss. The freshman lefthander entered in relief of Gunnar Brown in the fourth inning.

One runner was aboard and UAB had slugging, left-side hitting Landon Beavers coming to bat. Beavers cranked a pitch from Gutierrez over the center field wall.

UAB’s Baylor Roberts hit a solo shot in the top of the sixth off UTSA reliever Connor Kelley, who yielded one run on three hits in five and two thirds.

UAB closer Chase Ingram. UAB beat UTSA 7-6 in American Conference baseball on Thursday, May 14, 2026, at Roadrunner Field. - Photo by Joe Alexander

UAB closer Chase Ingram picked up his third save by getting two outs in the ninth, including a game-closing ground ball by Jordan Ballin. – Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA’s Campos calls Hallmark’s actions in altercation ‘unacceptable’

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

UTSA issued a statement critical of Roadrunners baseball coach Pat Hallmark on Wednesday night, nearly 24 hours after a post-game, altercation between Hallmark and coaches of the Texas State Bobcats.

UTSA Athletic Director Lisa Campos at the grand opening celebration of the UTSA Park West Fieldhouse facility in front of the school's soccer and track and field stadiums. - Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA athletic director Lisa Campos: ‘It is clear that Coach Hallmark’s conduct last night was unacceptable. I have addressed his words and actions with him and I am confident that he understands and acknowledges that it cannot happen again.’ – File photo by Joe Alexander

Athletic director Lisa Campos, in the statement, called Hallmark’s actions “unacceptable.” Hallmark apologized to UTSA, its fans and the Texas State baseball program.

The university’s statement came on the eve of an important regular-season ending, three-game series involving the Roadrunners and the UAB Blazers.

The series opens Thursday night and runs through Saturday at Roadrunner Field.

If UTSA can win one game out of the three, it would clinch at least a tie for the regular-season title in the American Conference.

After UTSA defeated Texas State 19-4 Tuesday night on the run rule, coaches for both teams gathered at home plate to discuss whether a Roadrunners pitcher had thrown at one of the Bobcats’ hitters.

During the exchange, tempers flared, and video showed Hallmark shoving a Texas State coach.

After the game, the UTSA coach said one of Texas State’s assistants “put his hands on me, so I put my hands back on him.”

Videos that appeared on social media captured a heated exchange between Hallmark and the Texas State coaches.

A video shot by Rylan Renteria, sports editor of The Paisano, the student newspaper at UTSA, showed coaches shouting at each other as Texas State players angrily hurled insults at Hallmark.

The incident led to communication during the day on Wednesday between administrators at UTSA and Texas State.

In a statement released just before 8 p.m. Wednesday, Campos, the UTSA vice president and director of athletics, criticized Hallmark’s conduct.

“After reviewing last night’s incident with Pat Hallmark, Texas State Athletics Director Don Coryell, American Conference officials and others, it is clear that Coach Hallmark’s conduct last night was unacceptable,” Campos said.

Added Campos, “I have addressed his words and actions with him and I am confident that he understands and acknowledges that it cannot happen again. We consider the matter closed.”

Hallmark, in the statement, expressed contrition for his role in the incident.

“I want to apologize to UTSA and our incredible fans for any embarrassment I may have caused for my conduct after last night’s game,” Hallmark said.

Added the coach, “I also want to apologize to the Texas State baseball program, its coaches, student-athletes and fans.

“Regardless of my motivation or provocation, I did not represent the sportsmanship and character that we demand of our student-athletes and that UTSA expects and deserves. I will do better.”

It remains to be seen how the controversy will affect the Roadrunners, who lead the American Conference by two games over the East Carolina Pirates and by three over the Blazers and the Rice Owls.

All have three games to play.

The title would be UTSA’s second straight after Hallmark’s 2025 team won the American, advanced to the NCAA tournament and defeated the Texas Longhorns in the Austin Regional.

Some hailed the baseball team’s success last year as the greatest team achievement in school history.

Records

UAB 29-23, 13-11
UTSA 35-17, 16-8

Coming up

UAB at UTSA, Thursday, 6 p.m.
UAB at UTSA, Friday, 6 p.m.
UAB at UTSA, Saturday, 11 a.m.

Notable

The Roadrunners won their first seven series in the American this season and 18 straight dating back to May of 2024. The streak was broken last week when they dropped two of three games at Memphis.

When Caden Miller blasted a two-run homer in the bottom of the first inning Tuesday against Texas State, it was only the third home run for UTSA in eight games in May.

All three of the home runs have been hit in Tuesday night games. The Roadrunners haven’t hit a home run on the weekend since April 25 at Tulane when Miller, Cade Sadler and Diego Diaz went deep.

UTSA hasn’t hit a homer in seven straight conference games since then, the finale at Tulane, three at home against Wichita State and three on the road last week at Memphis.

Senior Gunnar Brown (2-0, 5.77) is expected to start tonight for the Roadrunners against junior Mason Steele (5-3, 4.65).

Brown is one of 10 seniors set to be honored before Saturday’s regular-season finale. Players set to be recognized are:

Mike DeBattista
Drew Detlefsen
Josh Vaughn
Brandon Bishop
James Hubbard
Cade Sadler
Sam Simmons
Christian Okerholm
Gunnar Brown
Broc Parmer

Tempers flare between I-35 rivals after UTSA run-rules Texas State, 19-4

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Aidan Eshelman. UTSA beat Texas State 19-4 in non-conference baseball on Tuesday, May 12, 2026, at Roadrunner Field. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Freshman Aidan Eshelman had three hits and four RBIs Tuesday night as the Roadrunners opened a 15-run lead after three innings and walloped the Texas State Bobcats, 19-4. The game was called on the run rule in the seventh. – Photo by Joe Alexander

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

The latest chapter of the I-35 baseball rivalry between the UTSA Roadrunners and the Texas State Bobcats came complete with a wild ending Tuesday night as tempers flared between opposing coaching staffs.

After stuffing a potential big inning for Texas State in the top of the first, UTSA rallied for eight runs in the bottom half, capped by Caden Miller’s two-run homer.

By the time umpires called it on the run rule after Texas State’s at bat in the top of the seventh, the Roadrunners emerged with a 19-4 victory in a game with NCAA tournament implications.

Pat Hallmark. UTSA beat Texas State 19-4 in non-conference baseball on Tuesday, May 12, 2026, at Roadrunner Field. - Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA coach Pat Hallmark’s team can clinch at least a share of the American Conference regular-season title if it wins once in a three-game series against UAB starting Thursday at Roadrunner Field. – Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA freshman shortstop Aidan Eshelman starred offensively with three hits, including a double and two singles, and four RBIs.

He also scored three times.

As soon as the game was completed between the NCAA tournament contenders, coaches from both teams congregated at home plate.

Emotions soon boiled over with the Bobcats alleging that Roadrunners relief pitcher James Hubbard had been throwing at their hitters.

“I don’t know what happened with Hubbard,” UTSA coach Pat Hallmark said. “I guess they didn’t like it.”

In the postgame, an observer close to the action in the top of the sixth inning described an at bat by Texas State’s Blake Beheler against Hubbard.

After the first pitch arrived as a routine ball one, the next three sailed behind Beheler, who had had hit a two-run homer in the fourth inning.

The three pitches thrown behind the batter zoomed past the dirt circle around home plate, thudding against the padded wall at the screen.

At that juncture, umpire Jared Higdon issued a warning to both benches.

In his postgame remarks, Hallmark told reporters that he had been talking at home plate with Texas State coach Steve Trout about the Hubbard “situation” when things got heated.

During the conversation, one of the Texas State assistants standing nearby “put his hands on me,” Hallmark said.

“So,” the UTSA coach said, “I put my hands back on him. I hope the video is available so everybody can see he put his hands on me first, and, I’m not going to let him put his hands on me.”

A Texas State assistant coach?

Kendall Dove. UTSA beat Texas State 19-4 in non-conference baseball on Tuesday, May 12, 2026, at Roadrunner Field. - Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA pitcher Kendall Dove earned the victory in one and two thirds innings of relief. Dove entered the game with two runners on base in the first inning and held Texas State scoreless. – Photo by Joe Alexander

“Yes,” Hallmark said. “I don’t even know his name. You can print that, too. I don’t know his name. But he put his hands on me, and then, I’m going to defend myself from people that put their hands on me.

“Print it all.”

Earlier in the afternoon, about 15 minutes before the first pitch, fans from both schools jammed the grandstands at the modest stadium on the UTSA campus.

They also filled just about every corner of space down the left and right field lines.

Likely, it was the largest crowd of the season at Roadrunner Field (announced later at 1,585).

The crowd included fans supporting both teams, who turned out to watch a game in the last week of the regular season between in-state rivals from separate conferences.

The Roadrunners (35-17) of the American Conference held off the hard-hitting visitors early.

In the first few innings, frustration for the Sun Belt-affiliated Bobcats (31-22) mounted as they kept hitting the ball hard, only to come up with one early run.

UTSA, meanwhile, kept taking advantage of a blizzard of Texas State mistakes in the form of walks, batters hit by pitches and errors.

By the end of the third, the Roadrunners had taken a 16-1 lead, effectively putting behind them last week’s disappointing stretch of four games in which they lost three.

Texas State's Rashawn Galloway. UTSA beat Texas State 19-4 in non-conference baseball on Tuesday, May 12, 2026, at Roadrunner Field. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Rashawn Galloway leads Texas State with a .341 batting average. The senior from Boerne is a key player on a team vying for NCAA tournament consideration. – Photo by Joe Alexander

“I’m proud of ’em,” Hallmark said of his players. “Swung the bat good. We did everything pretty well. Starting pitching wasn’t very good, but I’m very proud of (reliever Kendall) Dove going out there and throwing strikes and getting us out of that first inning.”

In the top of the first, the Bobcats had a chance to break the game open with a big inning, but they all they got was a zero on the scoreboard.

Credit Hallmark for stopping the rally before it could really get started and then Dove for finishing it.

After Roadrunners starter Blayne Lyne walked leadoff hitter Rashawn Galloway on five pitches, he threw two more balls to the next man up, Manny Salas.

At that point, catcher Andrew Stucky visited the mound as the UTSA bullpen started to get busy. Two pitches later, Hallmark walked out to the mound to make a change.

Dove entered the game and yielded a hard-hit single by Salas to left, sending Galloway to third base.

At that point, the momentum started to turn in UTSA’s favor, as Jacquae Stewart bounced a ball back to the pitcher for the first out.

On the out, Salas advanced to second base, giving the Bobcats a prime opportunity with runners at second and third and cleanup hitter Clayton Namken at the plate.

Namken, a freshman from New Braunfels, hit two home runs in the Bobcats’ fourth straight victory in a game Arkansas State on Sunday afternoon.

As he faced Dove, Namken promptly drilled an extremely loud line drive that looked like it had the velocity to go all the way to the wall if nobody stopped it,

Fortunately for UTSA, the ball went straight to Eshelman at shortstop.

The freshman made the easy catch and flipped to second base to double off Salas for a double play that ended a scoreless inning.

In the bottom of the first, the Roadrunners exploded for eight runs on five hits and three Bobcats errors. As a result, Texas State starter Titan Targac (2-4) was tagged with the loss.

Dove (4-1) earned the victory in one and two thirds innings, during which he yielded one run on four hits.

Mike DeBattista. UTSA beat Texas State 19-4 in non-conference baseball on Tuesday, May 12, 2026, at Roadrunner Field. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Mike DeBattista worked two innings for the Roadrunners and threw a team-high 40 pitches. He gave up two hits, two unearned runs and a walk while striking out three. – Photo by Joe Alexander

Records

Texas State 31-22
UTSA 35-17

Coming up

UAB at UTSA, Thursday, 6 p.m.
UAB at UTSA, Friday, 6 p.m.
UAB at UTSA, Saturday, 11 a.m.
(end of regular season)

American Conference tournament, at Clearwater, Fla., May 20-24.

NCAA implications

In February, Texas State won the first meeting this season in San Marcos.

UTSA rebounded with the resounding victory over its rival on Tuesday night, setting up a potential debate within the NCAA tournament selection committee about which team has the stronger case to make the 64-team field.

Texas State entered Tuesday night with a No. 43 RPI ranking, against No. 50 for UTSA.

“It’s a big game,” Hallmark said, “because we could be in a situation for an at-large bid against them … We have some work to do this weekend (against UAB).

“But if we can do what … we need to do, (and) then you compare our resume’s, hopefully we have a conference championship and a 1-1 record and a big win against ’em.

“If it comes down to an at large (bid) between us and them, I think it should clearly, clearly go our way.”

D1 Baseball and Baseball America mention both UTSA and Texas State in their latest NCAA tournament projections.

Notes on the rivalry

In the I-35 baseball rivalry, Texas State leads UTSA 64-43 in an all-time series that dates back to 1992.

On the 11th day of this season on Feb. 24, Texas State won 7-2 in San Marcos, but UTSA retaliated in the season’s last week, winning by a 15-run margin in the rematch.

Both the 19 runs and the 15-run margin are records in the series for UTSA victories.

The difference in the two games this season?

Texas State pitching gave up only two freebies in San Marcos, walking one batter and hitting one with a pitch.

On Tuesday night in San Antonio, the number was 14, including nine walks issued by Texas State pitching, plus five hit by pitch.

Hallmark vs. Trout

UTSA’s Pat Hallmark and Texas State’s Steve Trout have coached 11 games against one another.

Hallmark’s Roadrunners now hold a 6-5 advantage on Trout and the Bobcats, including a 4-1 edge at Roadrunner Field.

After Hallmark’s initial postgame remarks, he was approached by a reporter who identified himself as being from the Austin American-Statesman.

The reporter said that he had talked to Trout and that they had talked about what happened after the game.

“I’ll tell you exactly what happened,” Hallmark said.

“He said he asked you about throwing at the hitter,” the reporter said.

“We didn’t throw at the hitter,” Hallmark responded. “But he asked me about the situation with Hubbard.”

To which the reporter responded, “He said that you basically confirmed that you were throwing at him.”

Responded Hallmark, “No. That’s not true. I said I don’t know what happened. He said, ‘It looked pretty odd.’ I said, I don’t know what happened. But I know he bat-flipped.’

“And then their assistant coach put his hands on me. And that’s when I put my hands back on him.”

The reporter then asked if Hallmark wanted to say anything else about the incident.

“I will say that I don’t know that we were throwing at him,” Hallmark said. “I know their guy bat-flipped (after the home run). And then I know that happened, that’s all I know.”

Asked the reporter, “Would you consider that disrespectful?”

Responded Hallmark, “Yes.”

Christian Hallmark. UTSA beat Texas State 19-4 in non-conference baseball on Tuesday, May 12, 2026, at Roadrunner Field. - Photo by Joe Alexander

Christian Hallmark beats a relay throw from the outfield with a head-first slide into third base in a five-run third inning. Hallmark, the son of the UTSA head coach, dashed from first to third on a single to right field by Aidan Eshelman. – Photo by Joe Alexander

I-35 rivalry: UTSA baseball hosts Texas State tonight

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

After dropping a heartbreaker to nationally-ranked Texas and then losing a series in the American Conference at Memphis, the UTSA Roadrunners have returned home to the Alamo City, trying to forget about it all and focus on the future.

The Roadrunners’ future is now as they prepare to play their non-conference finale at home today against the regional rival Texas State Bobcats, followed by three at home against the UAB Blazers on Thursday through Saturday to close out their American Conference regular-season schedule.

“Losing three games in a week is disappointing,” UTSA third baseman Diego Diaz said, “but I think by now, we should all be moving past it and just looking forward to the next game. Just the next pitch, the next at bat, whatever it is. Just looking forward to the next win.”

Records

Texas State 31-21
UTSA 34-17

Coming up

Texas State at UTSA, Tuesday, 6 p.m.
UAB at UTSA, Thursday, 6 p.m.
UAB at UTSA, Friday, 6 p.m.
UAB at UTSA, Saturday, 11 a.m.

American Conference tournament, at Clearwater, Fla., May 20-24

Notable

The Bobcats have won four in a row and have surged into the conversation as an NCAA tournament candidate out of the Sun Belt Conference.

Last week, Texas State won a home game at Baylor and then went on the road to win three straight Sun Belt games at Arkansas State.

With the victories, the Bobcats moved up to No. 43 in the latest ratings percentage index, ahead of the Roadrunners at No. 50.

In the Sun Belt, Coastal Carolina and Southern Mississippi are regarded by Baseball America magazine as “locks” to make the NCAA field, with Louisiana, South Alabama, Texas State and Troy in position to grab a third bid out of the conference.

By contrast, Baseball America projects the American as a one-bid conference at the moment, with the only sure pathway to the NCAA bracket being a championship run in the conference tournament.

The latest projection in D1 Baseball is more favorable to the American and the league-leading Roadrunners.

The website projects the American with two bids, with UTSA getting one of them and East Carolina the other. D1 Baseball projects that in the Sun Belt, Southern Miss, Coastal Carolina and Texas State will get invitations.

Regardless of the speculation, the Roadrunners need to win this week. They need to win tonight for the regional bragging rights and the RPI points. They need to win against UAB to claim the conference title.

As important as anything, they need to feel good about themselves and be healthy going into Clearwater next week.

“We know what’s in front of us,” UTSA coach Pat Hallmark said. “We’re going to do what we always do, which is prepare, and these guys will compete. I’ll try to stay focused in the game and make the right moves.

“Sometimes I do, sometimes I don’t, and then we’ll adapt and learn from all of it and do it again the next day.”

I-35 rivalry notable

Texas State leads the all-time series, 64-42, including a 7-2 victory over UTSA earlier this season in San Marcos. But since Steve Trout took over the Bobcats and Pat Hallmark the Roadrunners in 2020, it’s been a 5-5 series.

Since then, Hallmark and the Roadrunners have won three out of four against their rivals in San Antonio, winning 11-9 in 2024 and 12-9 last season. The Bobcats’ last win at Roadrunner Field came in 2023 when they won 5-3.

UTSA will take a two-game lead in conference into the final weekend

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Led by home runs from Trae Cassidy and James Smith IV, the Memphis Tigers exploded on Sunday for a 10-5 victory over UTSA, dashing the Roadrunners’ hopes of clinching a tie for first in the American Conference’s regular-season title chase.

The Tigers, in taking two out of three on the weekend, also handed the Roadrunners their first series loss in the American since May of 2024. UTSA had won all seven series in conference this season and 18 in row.

At the end of the day, the first-place Roadrunners held a two-game lead over the second-place East Carolina Pirates, with the Rice Owls and the UAB Blazers tied for third, three games off the pace. Each team has three remaining.

UTSA returns home this week to play regional rival Texas State in a non-conference contest on Tuesday night, followed by three in the American against UAB starting Thursday to close out the regular season.

East Carolina closes at the end of the week with three games at FAU in Boca Raton, while Rice plays three at home in Houston against Tulane. The conference tournament runs from May 20-24 in Clearwater, Fla.

UTSA is still in the driver’s seat to claim its second straight conference title. With one more victory, the Roadrunners can clinch at least a share of the championship.

In Memphis, it was a tough weekend for the visitors from San Antonio. The Tigers won 6-4 on Friday night, and UTSA rebounded Saturday with a 9-2 victory, setting up the rubber match at FedEx Park.

The Roadrunners had a chance to win it on Sunday after scoring three runs in the top of the sixth and taking a 4-2 lead.

In the uprising, Diego Diaz and Cade Sadler produced RBI singles and then UTSA pulled off a double steal for the two-run lead.

Undaunted, Memphis exploded for eight runs on seven hits in the bottom of the inning against UTSA relievers Mike DeBattista and Christopher Gutierrez, opening a 10-4 advantage.

Smith capped the outburst with a three-run homer off Gutierrez that landed in a parking lot far beyond the left field wall.

Records

UTSA 34-17, 16-8
Memphis 21-29, 12-12

Coming up

Texas State at UTSA, Tuesday, 6 p.m.
UAB at UTSA, Thursday, 6 p.m.
UAB at UTSA, Friday, 6 p.m.
UAB at UTSA, Saturday, 11 a.m.

American Conference tournament, at Clearwater, Fla., May 20-24.

Around the American

East Carolina shut out Rice 3-0 on Sunday in Greenville, N.C., moving into second place in the standings and pulling to within two games of the Roadrunners. Later Sunday, Charlotte downed UAB 10-8 in 10 innings, dropping UAB into a tie for third with Rice.

American leaderboard

UTSA 16-8, 34-17
East Carolina 14-10, 30-21-1
UAB 13-11, 29-22
Rice 13-11, 31-21
FAU 12-12, 27-24
Memphis 12-12, 21-29
Wichita State 11-13, 27-25
Charlotte 10-14, 25-26
Tulane 10-14, 25-28
South Florida 9-15, 30-20

Notable

Claiming the regular-season title is regarded as significant in UTSA’s quest for a return trip to the NCAA tournament. Since the first year of baseball in the American in 2014, every regular-season champion in the conference since then has pulled down an NCAA bid. That would also include both UCF and Houston when they tied for first in 2017.

I-35 update

The Texas State Bobcats hit six home runs Sunday in a 15-9 victory to sweep three games from Arkansas State at Jonesboro, Ark. Boerne’s Rashawn Galloway and New Braunfels’ Clayton Namken hit two homers apiece for Texas State. They have won four straight overall, improving to 31-21 on the season. The Bobcats are 13-14 in the Sun Belt. Texas State beat UTSA 7-2 on Feb. 24 in San Marcos.

UTSA downs Memphis; second straight title in the American is in reach

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

The first-place UTSA Roadrunners on Saturday moved closer to their second straight regular-season baseball title in the American Conference.

About an hour after they won 9-2 on the road against the Memphis Tigers, the Roadrunners’ lead in the American standings expanded to three games following the Rice Owls’ 5-3 victory over the East Carolina Pirates.

With a 16-7 record in the American, UTSA now leads three teams tied for second — Rice, East Carolina and UAB — all at 13-10. All have four games to play.

UAB kept pace with the leaders earlier in the day when the Blazers downed the Charlotte 49ers, 11-2.

In Memphis, UTSA scored six runs with two outs to back the pitching of senior Conor Myles. Myles (9-1) worked six innings, allowing two runs on eight hits, in the game played in Memphis at FedEx Park.

The lefty from Australia out-dueled Memphis lefty David Case (5-7) and earned a win that allowed the Roadrunners to rebound from a frustrating loss.

After leaving 14 runners on base and losing 6-4 to Memphis on Friday, UTSA needed a bounce-back effort to keep moving in the direction of a second straight title.

The Roadrunners also needed the win to avoid losing a series in conference for the first time since May of 2024.

UTSA’s offense came through with 13 hits, including two each by Drew Detlefsen, Caden Miller and Cade Sadler.

Detlefsen, who leads the conference in RBIs, went two for six and drove in two.

Josh Arquette, starting at third base as part of a ploy to give the Roadrunners more right-side hitting against a left-handed starter, also had a hit and two RBIs.

A day after hitting only three-for-21 with runners on base, the Roadrunners hit eight for 23 with runners on and eight for 16 with two outs.

Records

UTSA 34-16, 16-7
Memphis 20-29, 11-12

Coming up

UTSA at Memphis, Sunday, 11 a.m.
x-Texas State at UTSA, Tuesday, 6 p.m.
UAB at UTSA, Thursday, 6 p.m.
UAB at UTSA, Friday, 6 p.m.
UAB at UTSA, Saturday, 11 a.m.
x-non conference; all others American conference games

Notable

Sunday’s game between the UTSA Roadrunners and the Memphis Tigers has been moved up to an 11 a.m. central time start.

Rice making noise

A little more than a week ago, the Roadrunners sat in a tie for first in the American standings with the East Carolina Pirates and the UAB Blazers.

With outside help from the in-state rival Rice Owls, the Roadrunners have since taken a commanding three-game lead, starting by taking care of their own business and sweeping three from the Wichita State Shockers at home and then splitting its first two on the road at Memphis.

In the same span, East Carolina dropped two of three on the road at Memphis, before losing twice at home to Rice in the past few days. The UAB Blazers, in turn, lost three in Houston at Rice last weekend before splitting its first two at home against Charlotte.

Earlier this season, the Roadrunners won series against both the Pirates and the Owls. They will close the regular season with three at home against the Blazers.

Memphis scores a 6-4 victory to cool off first-place UTSA

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Marcus Smith hit high-hop, two-run single over first base in the bottom of the eighth inning Friday night, breaking up a tie game and leading the Memphis Tigers to a 6-4 victory over the mistake-prone UTSA Roadrunners.

Carson Fair closed in the ninth inning as the Tigers won the opener of an American Conference three-game series at FedEx Park in Memphis.

With the victory, Memphis (20-28, 11-11) stayed in the thick of the chase for a berth in the conference’s postseason tournament. For the Roadrunners (33-16, 15-7), the loss was a disappointment as they squandered a chance to open a three-game lead in the American.

Instead, UTSA leads second-place East Carolina by two games and UAB and Rice by three with five to play in conference.

The Roadrunners, who led 3-0 after two innings, endured a night of frustration on multiple levels.

Offensively, they managed only four hits against Tigers pitching and left 14 runners on base.

UTSA drew 11 walks and three hit by pitch, but one of the most productive offenses in the conference couldn’t seem to move anyone along when it counted, as the Roadrunners were limited to three-for-21 hitting with runners on base.

Defensively, they made five errors, including three by freshman shortstop Aidan Eshelman.

Memphis, meanwhile, took another step toward locking up a berth in the postseason tournament. In conference play, the Tigers have completely flipped the script, opening at 3-8 and following with an 8-3 surge in their last 11.

Game 2 of the series against the Roadrunners is Saturday, with the Game 3 finale on Sunday afternoon.

UTSA will need to win both remaining games to keep alive its streak of conference series victories. The Roadrunners have won all seven of their series in the American this season and 18 straight dating back to May of 2024.

Records

UTSA 33-16, 15-7
Memphis 20-28, 11-11

Coming up

UTSA at Memphis, Saturday, 2 p.m.
UTSA at Memphis, Sunday, 1 p.m.

Texas State at UTSA, Tuesday, 6 p.m.

Notable

The Roadrunners scored three runs in the top of the second off Memphis starter Will Howell. The first three batters in the inning reached on a hit by pitch, a walk and a bunt single by Jordan Ballin.

With one out, Howell threw a wild pitch that skipped past the catcher, allowing Jacob Silva to score from third for the first run of the game. Next, Christian Hallmark scored from third on a Caden Miller sacrifice fly.

It was an unusual play as the pop up in foul territory was caught with the third baseman back pedaling, giving Hallmark just enough of an opening to race home and slide head first under the tag for the second run.

Drew Detlefsen followed with an RBI double off the base of the wall to make it 3-0. Howell walked the next two batters but escaped further damage when Diego Diaz popped up to right field for the third out.

An early defensive highlight for the Roadrunners came in the bottom of the third when Detlefsen robbed Trae Cassidy of what could have been either a two-run homer, or, at least, an extra-base hit that would have scored a run.

Later in the inning, though, Memphis’ Brady McAbee drilled a three-run homer off UTSA starter Gunnar Brown to tie the game, 3-3. McAbee led Memphis with two hits in four at bats and four RBIs.

Another crazy play emerged in the top of the fifth inning. With UTSA’s Jordan Ballin at second base, Eshelman popped up in the infield. Memphis reliever Isaac Lucas, however, couldn’t get a glove on the ball and it fell to the turf for an RBI double for a 4-3 UTSA lead.

McAbee, facing UTSA’s Connor Kelley, drilled an RBI single in the bottom half of the fifth to tie the game.

Upstart Memphis is expected to challenge first-place UTSA this weekend

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By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

With two weekends remaining in the regular season, the first-place UTSA Roadrunners are expected to face a strong challenge in American Conference play this weekend.

Diego Diaz. UTSA baseball beat Dallas Baptist 12-8 on Friday, Feb. 20, 2026, at Roadrunner Field. - Photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA third baseman Diego Diaz slugged a home run to highlight a four-for-four performance in an 11-8 loss against fourth-ranked Texas on Tuesday night. – Photo by Joe Alexander

The Roadrunners, leading the conference by two games, will play three on the road starting Friday night against the surging Memphis Tigers.

It’s a team that has emerged in the past month as an unlikely spoiler in the race for the championship.

“Their record’s not wonderful,” UTSA coach Pat Hallmark said. “But they’re playing their best baseball right now.”

Looking at the season as a whole, some might wonder why the Roadrunners should be overly concerned with the Tigers.

Didn’t the Tigers (19-28 overall, 10-11 in the American) lose nine of their first 11 games this season?

Didn’t they lose eight of their first 12 in conference? This is all true.

The Roadrunners (33-15, 15-6) indeed will see a team this weekend in Memphis that earlier in conference lost in weekend series to Tulane and South Florida.

Both of those teams are now tied for last in the American

At the same time, Memphis’ record is deceiving. It took its lumps early during a competitive non-conference schedule and then completely changed its mindset and outlook.

Since the middle of April, the Tigers have won nine of their last 14 games.

In conference play, they’ve won six of their last nine, with series victories over the second- and fourth-place teams in the American.

The turnaround may have started on April 14 when the Tigers, opening a weekend series in Houston, defeated the Rice Owls, 4-1.

They went on to sweep three games, including the finale when they rallied for four runs over their last three at bats to claim a 6-5 thriller in 10 innings.

Pitcher Logan Rushing nailed down the victory in the bottom of the 10th after giving up a one-out double.

Underscoring both the Tigers’ potential and the parity in the American, the Owls have since rallied into fourth place since that April 16 setback.

Last week, playing at home, the Tigers struck again.

They lost the opener but then rebounded to win the next two in a series over the second-place East Carolina Pirates, a perennial NCAA tournament team.

The Pirates dominated the opener, claiming a 12-0, run-rule victory in eight innings. From there, the Tigers took over.

In the second game, they defeated East Carolina ace lefthander Ethan Norby in a 5-3 victory.

Riding the momentum, Memphis won again the next day, 9-4.

Freddy Rodriguez and Shane Cox homered for the Tigers to affect the outcome of a game that, incidentally, helped boost UTSA into its two-game lead.

Hallmark said it’s always a challenge to face teams coached by Memphis’ Matt Riser.

“They always pitch,” he said. “They’re well coached … I know coach Riser well.

“(They’re) a little bit like us offensively. He tries to play a complete offense and bunt and run, if it’s there, but he also wants to stand in the box and get some hits.”

The Tigers’ running game on the bases is one of the best. They’ve registered a nation’s 27th-best 108 stolen bases, with Rodriguez fourth individually in that department.

Rodriguez has 37 steals in 42 attempts, while Javon Hernandez is 23 out of 24.

“They’ll be good,” Hallmark said. “They reloaded a little bit with a kid named (Michael) Gupton in center, who (UTSA assistant Ryan) Aguayo was on heavily (in recruiting) this summer. And, frankly, we couldn’t afford him.

“I guess Memphis could, because he ended up at Memphis. But he’s got (13) home runs for ’em. A very, very talented hitter. So they can swing the bat a little bit.”

UTSA, a team that has won all seven conference series this season and 18 straight since May of 2024, is coming off an emotional mid-week loss at fourth-ranked Texas.

Having won four games in a row, including a conference sweep at home last weekend against Wichita State, the Roadrunners played in Austin on Tuesday night and lost 11-8 to fourth-ranked Texas.

Making strong cases at UTSA for all-conference consideration are position players Drew Detlefsen, Caden Miller, Lane Haworth and Andrew Stucky, plus pitchers Conor Myles, Connor Kelley and Sam Simmons.

Records

UTSA 33-15, 15-6
Memphis 19-28, 10-11

Coming up

UTSA at Memphis, Friday, 6 p.m.
UTSA at Memphis, Saturday, 2 p.m.
UTSA at Memphis, Sunday, 1 p.m.

Texas State at UTSA, Tuesday, 6 p.m.

American leaderboard

UTSA 15-6, 33-15
East Carolina 13-8, 29-19-1
UAB 12-9, 28-20
Rice 11-10, 29-20
Wichita State 10-11, 26-23
FAU 10-11, 25-23
Memphis 10-11, 19-28
Charlotte 8-13, 23-25
South Florida 8-13, 29-18
Tulane 8-13, 23-27

Carson Tinney’s eighth-inning grand slam powers Texas past UTSA, 11-8

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Texas slugger and Notre Dame transfer Carson Tinney smashes a go-ahead grand slam against UTSA in the eighth inning. – Video from Texas athletics via x.com.

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Carson Tinney crushed a grand slam in the bottom of the eighth inning as the fourth-ranked Texas Longhorns averted a fourth-straight loss to UTSA, downing the Roadrunners 11-8 Tuesday night at UFCU Disch-Falk Field.

With the victory, the Longhorns beat the Roadrunners for the first time since 2020.

UTSA and Texas did not play from 2021-2024. Last season, the Roadrunners won all three games off the Longhorns in Austin, including two in the NCAA playoffs.

In the rematch, the two met on a muggy Tuesday night in Austin. The Longhorns jumped on the Roadrunners early, scoring four runs in the bottom of the first.

Undeterred, the Roadrunners retaliated with one run in the second and six in the third to take a 7-4 lead. Garrett Gruell highlighted the third-inning outburst with a pinch-hit, three-run homer.

The Longhorns tied it in the bottom half, scoring three times, with Maddox Monsour’s two-run home run making it a 7-7 ballgame.

In the seventh, UTSA broke up a battle of the bullpens when Diego Diaz ripped an RBI double — his fourth hit of the night — to push UTSA into an 8-7 lead.

Texas answered in a big way in the eighth. Facing Sam Simmons, the Longhorns caught a break.

Casey Borba led off with a pop up in front of the mound, but Simmons dropped the ball.

Flustered, Simmons walked Monsour to put two men aboard with nobody out. From there, Presley Courville sacrifice bunted with Borba moving to third and Monsour to second.

UTSA coach Pat Hallmark had seen enough. He went to the bullpen and brought in Connor Kelley, one of his hottest pitchers, who promptly walked Texas’ leading hitter, Aiden Robbins.

Tinney, one of the Longhorns’ leading power threats, was next up. On a 1-1 count, he drilled a ball over the left wall that traveled 483 feet and took one hop to an adjacent tennis center.

Hard-throwing Thomas Burns entered the game to pitch the ninth for the Longhorns, and he notched the save with a 1-2-3 inning. Freshman Brody Walls (2-0) earned the win.

Walls entered the game in the fifth to shut down a UTSA rally and went on to work three and two thirds of an inning. He gave up one run on one hit — the Diaz double — with one walk. Walls struck out five.

Simmons (7-4), charged with two runs on one hit in one inning, took the loss.

Diaz, a 5-10 junior from Sharyland High School in the Rio Grande Valley, led the Roadrunners at the plate with four hits. He went four-for-four, scored twice and drove in two.

In the second inning, he belted a solo home run down the right field line. Diaz added singles in the third and the fifth and then drove in the go-ahead run in the seventh with a double.

Andrew Stucky also had multiple hits, going two for four with two RBIs.

Records

UTSA 33-15
Texas 36-10

Coming up

UTSA at Memphis, Friday, 6 p.m.
UTSA at Memphis, Saturday, 2 p.m.
UTSA at Memphis, Sunday, 1 p.m.

Notable

UTSA closes its regular season with three games at Memphis this weekend, and then next week with a Tuesday night home game against Texas State, followed by three at home against UAB.

Texas, with the win over UTSA, pushed its lead in the all-time series to 27-9. At the same time, Texas is only 2-3 against Pat Hallmark-coached UTSA.

In 2020, Hallmark’s first season with the Roadrunners, the Longhorns beat the Roadrunners 6-2 before the pandemic wiped out the rest of the year.

Last season, the Roadrunners famously went 3-0 against the Horns in Austin.

They won 8-7 in 12 innings last March during the regular season. In the NCAA playoffs, they won 9-7 and 7-4 on consecutive days against the tournament’s No. 2 overall seed to clinch the Austin Regional title.

Despite Tuesday’s loss, the Roadrunners figure to have a good shot at making the NCAA tournament for the second straight season.

Right now, they have a two-game lead in the American Conference regular-season race with six to play, including three this weekend at Memphis.

Hallmark says winning the regular-season title in the American would “go a long way” toward boosting his team’s chances of making the 64-team field.

The Roadrunners also could make the NCAA by winning the American’s postseason tournament. The American championship is scheduled May 20-24 in Clearwater, Fla.


UTSA’s Diego Diaz belts a second-inning, solo homer down the right-field line. Video from UTSA athletics via x.com


Pinch hitter Garrett Gruell boosts UTSA into a 7-4 lead in the third inning with a three-run homer. – Video from UTSA athletics via x.com.

UTSA’s Hallmark forecasts a high-scoring game at Texas

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Update: Probable starters for tonight’s UTSA – Texas baseball game in Austin are James Hubbard (1-1, 6.92 ERA) for the Roadrunners against Max Grubbs (2-0, 4.67) for the Longhorns.

By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay

Last year, UTSA Roadrunners coaches figured that if they could limit the damage done by Ethan Mendoza, Adrian Rodriguez and Max Belyeu, then they would have a good chance to keep pace with the Texas Longhorns.

Pat Hallmark. UTSA beat Wichita State 13-7 in American Conference baseball in the first game of a doubleheader on Saturday, May 2, 2026. - photo by Joe Alexander

UTSA coach Pat Hallmark has guided his team to a 33-14 record going into a Tuesday night test in Austin against the Texas Longhorns. Texas is 35-10 and ranked fourth in the latest D1 Baseball Top 25 poll. – File photo by Joe Alexander

As it turned out, the Roadrunners did more than just keep up. They won three games from the perennial national power in Austin, including one in the regular season and two in the NCAA playoffs, to send shock waves around the nation.

With the Roadrunners preparing to play the Horns in Austin for the first time this season on Tuesday night, the equation has changed.

Even though Belyeu has moved on to professional baseball, Roadrunners coaches see a Longhorns lineup this season that poses more of a problem.

“They’re deeper,” UTSA coach Pat Hallmark said, meaning that Texas has more ability this year to score runs.

“This might sound weird,” the coach said, “but they’re a little bit like (the University of the Incarnate Word). The message (to our pitchers) against UIW was that you’re not going to pitch a shutout today.

“You’re not going to pitch a two hitter. It’ll be the same (against Texas). Like, Texas is going to get some hits. Texas is going to score some runs. I think the key to this game is quality at bats in our lineup.”

Hallmark said he forecasts a high-scoring game.

“I could be wrong,” he said. “I could have this all wrong and it’ll be 1-0, but that would shock me. But you might see something more in the neighborhood of, like 10-8, 12-10, or something like that.

“Their lineup is just deeper. Deeper (in) power (hitting). In other words, people that can do some damage.”

For the fourth-ranked Longhorns, who improved to 35-10 by winning two of three from No. 10 Mississippi State over the weekend, Mendoza and Rodriguez haven’t hit at the same high level this season.

Last year, Mendoza batted .333 and Rodriguez .313, with both of them hovering just above .900 in OPS, a combination of average, on base percentage and slugging.

This season, Mendoza is batting for an average of .281 with an .884 OPS. Rodriguez is at .262 and .779.

The biggest producers in the Texas lineup right now are Seton Hall transfer Aiden Robbins, freshman Anthony Pack Jr. and catcher Carson Tinney, formerly of Notre Dame.

Robbins leads the Longhorns, batting .365. He’s also got 18 homers and 51 RBIs.

His power is not a rumor. In March, at the Bruce Bolt Classic in Houston, Robbins launched a home run that hit the train tracks at the top of Daikin Park, where the Houston Astros play.

Pack, a multi-skilled freshman from California, bats .348 and has 40 RBIs. Combined with speed that has allowed him to steal 17 bases in 18 attempts, he will test the Roadrunners in many ways.

Tinney, from Castle Pines, Colo., is a .314 hitter with 16 home runs, with two of them coming in one game last Tuesday at home against the Sam Houston State Bearkats.

His two-run blast in the bottom of the ninth rallied the Longhorns past the Bearkats, 15-14.

On the weekend, the Longhorns won a Southeastern Conference series in Austin by taking two of three from the 10th-ranked Mississippi State Bulldogs.

Records

UTSA 33-14 (15-6 in the American)
Texas 35-10 (15-8 in the SEC)

Coming up

UTSA at Texas, Tuesday, 6:30 p.m.

UTSA at Memphis, Friday, 6 p.m.
UTSA at Memphis, Saturday, 2 p.m.
UTSA at Memphis, Sunday, 1 p.m.

Notable

Pitching plans haven’t been announced for either team as yet.

The Roadrunners are coming off a 4-0 week — all at home — in which they beat the Incarnate Word Cardinals, 22-10, last Tuesday and then swept the Wichita State Shockers, 13-7, 8-1 and 6-3.

With the Roadrunners sitting on 33 wins and in first place by two games in the American, they have moved up to No. 38 in the national ratings percentage index.

As for their NCAA tournament chances, the forecast is good at the moment.

The Roadrunners are projected along with the East Carolina Pirates as teams from the American Conference expected to make the 64-team field, according to The Tennessean and On3.com.

UTSA coach Pat Hallmark said he’s focused on winning the American’s regular-season championship, which he said would “go a long way” toward securing the program’s second straight NCAA bid.

“In my opinion we’re winning the games that we should win and even some that we shouldn’t,” he said. “I think that we’re overachieving. So I’m happy about that, and that’s something that I keep my mind on, and we’ll see where the RPI shakes out.

“If we can win the conference — which I don’t mind talking about — it’s a big if. We haven’t done it. But we’re in a position in the last two weeks to possibly win it. If we can … (that) will go a long way in putting us in the NCAA tournament, in my opinion.

“That’s what history says. They definitely will look at a regular-season conference championship, as well as RPI. That championship will hold some weight. That’s really where we’re most focused right now, is trying to win this thing.”